Ugo reached the start of the Pine Ridge bike trail at seven. He wanted to be first. He always wanted to be first.
乌戈七点钟到了松岭自行车道的起点。他想第一个到。他总是想第一个到。
Cleo was already there. She sat on the long wooden table by the gate. Her bike lay in the dust beside her helmet.
克莉奥已经在那儿了。她坐在大门边的长木桌上。她的自行车和头盔一起躺在旁边的尘土里。
"You're late," she said.
“你迟到了。”她说。
"I'm early," said Ugo. "You're just earlier."
“我是早到，”乌戈说，“只是你到得更早。”
They were the two best riders in the junior club. Everyone said so. Nobody could say which one was better. That was the problem.
他们是少年俱乐部里最厉害的两个车手。大家都这么说。可谁也说不清到底谁更强。问题就在这里。
All summer they raced each other. Cleo won in June. Ugo won in July. In August they tied, and they did not speak for a week.
整个夏天他们不停地互相比赛。六月克莉奥赢了。七月乌戈赢了。八月他们打成平手，然后整整一个星期谁也不跟谁说话。
Now the club leader came out of the hut. He carried a big sheet of white card on a wooden board. In his other hand he held one black pen with thick ink.
这时俱乐部的负责人从小屋里走了出来。他拿着一块钉在木板上的大白卡纸，另一只手拿着一支墨水很浓的黑笔。
"Good, you're both here," he said. "Forty new riders come at ten. They need a map of the trail. Someone must draw it on this card."
“很好，你们俩都在，”他说，“十点钟有四十个新车手要来。他们需要一张赛道地图。得有人把它画在这张卡纸上。”
"I'll do it," said Ugo.
“我来画。”乌戈说。
"I'll do it," said Cleo.
“我来画。”克莉奥说。
The leader sighed. "I thought so. So you will do it together. One board, one pen. I have to fix the gate. Please don't fight."
负责人叹了口气。“我就知道。那你们就一起画。一块板，一支笔。我得去修大门。请不要吵架。”
He gave the pen to Ugo and walked away. Cleo took the other end of it at once.
他把笔交给乌戈，转身走了。克莉奥立刻抓住了笔的另一头。
"I draw the trail," she said. "I know every turn."
“赛道我来画，”她说，“每个弯我都熟。”
"I know every turn too," said Ugo. "And my lines are straighter."
“每个弯我也熟，”乌戈说，“而且我画的线更直。”
"Your lines are never straight."
“你的线从来没直过。”
They pulled the pen back and forth. Nobody won. Then the pen made a small, wet sound.
他们你拉我扯，谁也没占上风。接着，笔发出一声轻轻的、湿湿的声响。
Black ink ran down Ugo's fingers. A fat drop fell onto the board. It spread into a dark spot as big as a plate.
黑墨水顺着乌戈的手指流了下来。一大滴落在木板上，晕开成一块盘子那么大的黑斑。
"Look what you did!" said Cleo.
“看你干的好事！”克莉奥说。
"I did nothing! The pen is broken."
“我什么也没干！是笔坏了。”
Cleo found a cloth in her bag. She pressed it on the spot. The ink only moved to the edges, and the spot grew bigger.
克莉奥从包里找出一块布，按在那块黑斑上。墨水只是被挤到了边缘，黑斑反而更大了。
"Great," she said. "Now the board is ruined."
“太好了，”她说，“这下板子全毁了。”
Ugo looked at his hand. It was black to the wrist. He wiped it on his shirt, and the shirt turned black too.
乌戈看着自己的手。黑得一直到手腕。他在衬衫上擦了擦，衬衫也变黑了。
"We have three hours," he said. "The shop in town opens at ten. That's too late."
“我们只有三个小时，”他说，“镇上的店十点才开门。那就太晚了。”
"Then we use this pen."
“那我们就用这支笔。”
"It leaks."
“它漏墨水。”
"Everything leaks," said Cleo. "Even good pens."
“什么东西都会漏，”克莉奥说，“好笔也会。”
Ugo did not answer. He picked up the pen. He tried to draw the start of the trail. The line began well. Then it grew thick and wet. A new black drop fell at the end.
乌戈没有回答。他拿起笔，试着画赛道的起点。线条一开始还不错，接着变得又粗又湿。末端又落下一滴新的黑墨水。
"Give it to me," said Cleo.
“给我。”克莉奥说。
She tried next. Her line was calmer, but the pen leaked even more. She drew the first hill. By then, her hand looked like Ugo's.
下一个轮到她。她的线条更平稳，但笔漏得更厉害了。她画完第一个山坡时，手已经和乌戈的一样黑了。
They sat down on the table. For a while neither one spoke. The sun climbed over the trees. Somewhere in the woods, a bird made a loud, silly noise.
他们在桌子上坐了下来。有好一会儿，谁也没说话。太阳爬上了树梢。树林里的某处，一只鸟发出响亮又傻气的叫声。
"Okay," said Ugo at last. "Maybe we need four hands."
“好吧，”乌戈终于说，“也许我们需要四只手。”
"Maybe," said Cleo. She did not look happy about it.
“也许吧。”克莉奥说。她看上去并不乐意。
They made a plan. Ugo held the cloth under the tip. It caught every drop. Cleo drew very slowly. When the cloth was full, Ugo wiped the pen. Then she began again.
他们订了个计划。乌戈把布托在笔尖下，接住每一滴墨水。克莉奥画得很慢很慢。布满了，乌戈就把笔擦干净。然后她再接着画。
It was slow work, but it worked. The first line came out thin and clean. Then came the second line. Then came a sharp turn, which Cleo drew in one smooth move.
这活儿很慢，但行得通。第一条线画得又细又干净。接着是第二条线。然后是一个急转弯，克莉奥一笔就流畅地画了出来。
"That's the Snake Bend," said Ugo. He pointed. "Add the root. The big one."
“那是蛇形弯，”乌戈说着，指了指，“把树根加上。那个大的。”
"I know the root," said Cleo. But she added it.
“我知道那个树根。”克莉奥说。但她还是把它加上了。
"Now the rock garden."
“现在画乱石区。”
"I know the rock garden!"
“我知道乱石区！”
"Then draw it faster."
“那就画快点。”
She laughed. It was her first laugh in a week.
她笑了。这是她一个星期以来第一次笑。
Soon the whole trail stood on the board. It went up the hill and down through the trees. It crossed the wooden bridge. Cleo drew the jumps. Ugo marked the steep parts with little arrows.
不久，整条赛道都出现在板子上了。它爬上山坡，又穿过树林向下。它跨过木桥。克莉奥画了跳台。乌戈用小箭头标出了陡坡。
At last they came to the big black spot in the middle. It was still wet, and it shone in the sun.
最后，他们来到了中间那块大黑斑前。它还是湿的，在阳光下闪着光。
"We can't clean it," said Ugo. "What do we do?"
“这块擦不掉，”乌戈说，“怎么办？”
Cleo looked at the spot. "Halfway along the trail, what do we pass?"
克莉奥看着那块黑斑。“赛道走到一半，我们会经过什么？”
"The pond," said Ugo. Then his mouth fell open. "The pond!"
“池塘，”乌戈说。接着他张大了嘴。“池塘！”
"It's round. It's dark. It's about the right size."
“它是圆的。是深色的。大小也差不多。”
They added curved lines around the edge for the grass. Cleo made small waves with the tip of the pen. Ugo drew a tiny frog on a stone. When they stepped back, the ink spot looked exactly like water.
他们在边缘画上弯弯的线条当作草地。克莉奥用笔尖画出一圈圈小小的波纹。乌戈在一块石头上画了一只小青蛙。他们退后几步看，那块墨渍简直就像一片水。
"It's the best part of the map," said Ugo.
“这是地图上最棒的部分。”乌戈说。
"It's the only part with an accident," said Cleo. "That's why."
“也是唯一出过意外的部分，”克莉奥说，“所以才这么棒。”
At ten o'clock the new riders arrived with their parents. They stood around the board. A small girl in a green helmet touched the pond.
十点钟，新车手们和他们的家长来了。大家围着板子站着。一个戴绿头盔的小女孩伸手摸了摸那个池塘。
"Is the pond really this round?" she asked.
“池塘真的有这么圆吗？”她问。
"Almost," said Cleo.
“差不多。”克莉奥说。
"Who drew the map?" she asked the two riders.
“这张地图是谁画的？”她问两位车手。
Ugo looked at Cleo. Cleo looked at Ugo. For one second, both of them wanted to say, "I did."
乌戈看看克莉奥。克莉奥看看乌戈。有那么一秒钟，他们俩都想说：“是我画的。”
"We did," they said together.
“是我们画的。”他们异口同声地说。
The club leader came back from the gate. He looked at the board for a long time. Then he looked at their black hands.
俱乐部负责人从大门那边回来了。他盯着板子看了很久。然后又看了看他们那两双黑乎乎的手。
"This is the best trail map we ever had," he said. "I will buy you a new pen."
“这是我们有过的最棒的赛道地图，”他说，“我给你们买支新笔。”
"No, thank you," said Ugo.
“不用了，谢谢。”乌戈说。
"We like this one," said Cleo. "It's very good with water."
“我们喜欢这一支，”克莉奥说，“它特别会画水。”
Ugo held up his hand. It was still black to the wrist. "Look," he said. "Now I match the pond."
乌戈举起手。它还是黑到手腕。“瞧，”他说，“现在我和池塘是一对了。”
Cleo grinned. "Don't touch the map," she said. "You'll make a second lake."
克莉奥咧嘴笑了。“别碰地图，”她说，“你会弄出第二个湖来的。”
